Author's Note:

Plot: AU. Danny Fenton doesn't believe in ghosts. In fact, he would go so far as to say that he hates them. He's a starting freshman and the only thing on his mind is being a normal boy, but apparently the universe has other plans. Little does he know that he will become apart of string of events that will force him to accept their existence and, eventually, join their ranks.

Pairing(s): Hints of Danny/Sam

Rating: Teen

Disclaimer: Hartman has acknowledged the existence of fanfiction, and doesn't mind if we borrow his characters.

Hello everyone! Yes, I know I have three other unfinished stories that are demanding to be written, but what can I say? When you have a plot bunny, you have a plot bunny! Now, there won't be any 'ghosts' for a while, but hopefully the characters and social drama will keep you entertained until the horror sets in.

Yes, this is a multi-crossover, but allow me to explain. They will be appearing in the second part Dust to Dust. Now, there is some setting up for the fandoms to come, but they do not play a major part in this one except for background. Hinted at is An no Exorcist, Supernatural, and Dr. Who. However, you don't need to have any knowledge of them in order to enjoy this story – which this story is no longer marked as a crossover.

Ashes to Ashes

Dust to dust

Body to ground

In this we trust

Depart this life

Rot to naught

From earth to earth

Food for thought

We'll wither away

Give up the ghost

Join the throng

Of undead hosts

High School.

The gateway to hell, the portal to life. The novelty of the new domain wouldn't last; the terrible monotony of school would cause every perk to lose its appeal. Social life would take on a whole new meaning, and labels would be slapped onto backs by cruel hands. Daniel Fenton – Danny, he was quick to correct – knew he couldn't stop himself from anticipating the first day. Granted, his sister had already tried to convince him that high school was nothing special, and that it would feel just as – if not more – unbearable than middle school had. She was probably right, but that didn't stop him from double checking his backpack, didn't stop him from setting aside his chosen outfit, and it didn't stop him from going to bed early.

But what would it really be like? He hadn't seen anyone except Sam and Tucker over the break. Well, mostly anyway. Sam had left with her family for the last two weeks of summer to some family reunion in California – Santa Cruz, if he remembered correctly. Though he kept his eyes shut, a smile curled about his lips as he recalled their farewell.

"Make sure you bring sun block. Heaven forbid you come back the same color as the rest of us."

"Oh, very funny Danny. You know you're not the tannest kid around either. This is going to be horrible, my mom's already tried to sabotage my luggage."

"What did she do?"

"Tried to fill it with pink skirts and sunshine-yellow dresses, ug. Can I trust you guys won't kill yourselves while I'm gone?"

"C'mon Sam, Tucker and I will be fine. We need some guy time anyways."

"Right… Argh! I am not looking forward to spending two weeks with a bunch of people I don't even know."

Her face had been grim, as though she were headed to the gallows rather than a family gathering. It had actually been quite comical, her cringing as sickly sweet voices called her to the car, and the hug that seemed to scream save me! Well, after two weeks without her and only Tucker to hang out with, he was anxious for her to get home. He missed her Goth-bird persona that was uniquely her. That, and he didn't think he could endure another one of Tucker's technology spiels without someone to glance at and exchange sniggers. Danny rolled over; trying to get in a more comfortable position, but only succeeded in knocking his pillow to the floor. After several moments, during which he considered just leaving it there, he sighed and opened his eyes.

Icy blue irises gazed around, not a trace of fatigue within them. The room was rather large, with a desk pushed up against the wall beside the door. On the other side, a dresser shared the space with a poorly endowed bookshelf – a random collection of comic books, paranormal anthologies, and an eight ball on the middle shelf. A poster of his favorite band, Humpty Dumpty, was pasted beside a floor-length mirror on the other side of the dresser. Then, beside his queen bed – which had been placed in the centre between two windows – was a beanbag and couch-chair.

It was the most normal room in the whole house.

With a sigh, he sat up and ran a hand through his black hair, pushing his ruffled bangs out of his eyes. Though dark, he could see his pillow quite clearly on the floor beside his bedside table. He leaned over, grabbed it and then proceeded to try and fluff it up. Before he could lie back down however, a vibration of metal on wood followed by an annoying jumble of notes alerted him that he had a phone call. After checking the caller-ID he flipped it open.

"Hey, Sam."

Sam's voice was indignant when she responded. "Are you in bed already?"

"Well, yeah." Danny sighed. "I don't want to be late my for first day."

"Danny. It's 9:30."

He sighed heavily. "I know…" But before he could even try to argue his case, Sam was talking again, very fast and excited.

"Anyway, that's not why I called. I cut my hair!"

Danny blinked, wondering if he had heard correctly. "What?"

"Yeah, I finally did it! Course, Mom's not too happy…"

Immediately an image of a Sam in a Mohawk popped into his mind. He choked slightly, caught between a snigger of laughter and a panicked gasp. It was silent on the other end of the phone for a moment.

"You just imagined me in a Mohawk, didn't you?"

"Well, it is a popular Goth hairstyle, isn't it?"

He could practically see her rolling her eyes. "You'll see it tomorrow. Just don't give me too much crap about it, all right?" There was a pause as she sighed. "So, what did you and Tucker do?"

"Speaking of which, I'd have thought you'd call him and get him to set up a three-way call."

A snort of laughter. "He's just as pathetic as you. Only difference is he was asleep when I called and all I got was a grumbled 'talk you tomorrow' before it disconnected."

"Ah," Danny smiled. "Nothing spectacular. Played several violent video games, endured my parents explaining their new "project" and went to see Bloodbath 2."

"What?" There was some furious grumbling, and then a dejected, "I tried to see it but someone—" No doubt her parents, he mused. "—didn't consider it appropriate for a girl to see."

He laughed. "It's all right. It's still in the theatre. We can see it this weekend. But, you're buying."

"Fine."

"So, how was the family?"

"So painful that I only want to relate it once. I'll tell you and Tucker tomorrow."

"Haha, okay. Well, I'm going to bed then."

"Good luck. A night owl can't suddenly become an early bird."

Danny frowned, but hung up all the same. He was determined to get to school on time and be attentive in his classes. After all, the first and last days of school were the best. He laid down and pulled the comforter up to his chin, his hands sliding under his head as he stared at the ceiling. Great, now he couldn't stop himself from trying to imagine what sort of haircut Sam had gotten. Or her face when Tucker gave her a file of Bloodbath 2 in High Definition, downloaded in the theatre.

And so it was that Danny lay flat on his back, trying in vain to fall asleep.

Ashes to Ashes

In the end, Danny thought as he poured milk into his bowl of cereal, he should have just gone to bed the same time he always did. He hadn't gotten to sleep until past one, and even then he had jerked awake every half-an-hour or so. He'd gotten up nearly an hour before his alarm rang, finally giving in to the fact he wasn't going to get any rest. He yawned widely and took a spoonful of the cheerios, but halfway to his mouth it was knocked roughly out his hand.

"What?" He exclaimed, jumping and hitting his knee on the underside of the table. What on earth was it now, he thought grumpily, now rubbing the smarting bump on his patella.

He looked up to see his father, now quickly taking the milk away from the table. Danny had never met anyone that matched his father in height. Jack Fenton was large and, due to a love of fudge, had started putting on some weight. His black hair had started to gray, particularly on the sides. He looked a little like him, well; he had his hair and eyes anyway.

"Sorry Danny," he said putting the milk back in the fridge, "Forgot about the ecto-milk-nutritioner!"

Danny blinked. "The what?" he glanced down at his bowl and blanched. It was light green, and seemed to be glowing slightly. He swore under his breath. That had been the last of the cereal.

"It's supposed to make ectoplasm run through one's veins like garlic and ward off the ghosts! Only we're having some problems getting the ectoplasm to combine with the milk."

"I'm suddenly not hungry," Danny said, standing and dumping the luminescent breakfast into the Fenton Garbage Disposal.

"Here, sweetie."

Danny turned and smiled as his mother held out a lunch sack and a piece of toast with jam on it. Maddie Fenton did not look like the type of woman who would marry Jack. Her hair was short and straight, a light brown that had hints of red in it. She was slim, with thunder-thighs and the warmest smile he'd ever seen.

"There you go. Have a wonderful day at school!" Her smile suddenly turned excited and she rambled on, "When you get home, I need your help to start kicking in the dry wall downstairs for the Fenton Ghost Portal!"

Danny felt his smile lose its sincerity.

"Right, sure," he said and he grabbed the lunch and the toast before exiting the room at top speed.

Right, there was no, "And tell me all about your first day at Casper High!" As much as he loved his parents – despite the fact that they constantly wore spandex jumpsuits, his mother a turquoise, his father a shocking caution orange – he grew weary of their ghost obsession. They'd been this way ever since he could remember, always inventing strange – and more often than not – hazardous things in the basement. He'd been covered in ectoplasmic goo more times than he cared to count, and had even gone to the emergency room after accidentally swallowing a mouthful of the stuff when he was five.

He knew they loved him, but sometimes it felt like he was competing for their attention. Him against the idea of undead-specters. Yes, the mere idea. His parents hadn't even seen a real ghost. He'd bought into their fascination for a few months when he was nine. They'd been so thrilled and told him everything they knew about ghosts, where they came from, and how to kill them. If he was honest, he'd been pretty excited, eager to see one of these horrifying spectral creatures. But, after unsuccessful hunt after unsuccessful hunt, he had realized there was no such thing.

Yawning widely, he shoved his lunch into his backpack – which for some reason was purple – and slung it over his shoulder. He was just about to walk out when a voice behind him stopped him.

"Hey Danny. Want a ride?"

Danny turned and blinked several times. Jasmine Fenton stood at the bottom of the stairs, holding her own backpack and looking rather awkward. She brought a hand up to her long red hair and adjusted the blue-green ribbon back into place. She had blue eyes, like Danny, but they were tinted with a gentle sea green and an intelligence to rival his mothers. She was older than him by two years, and she liked to think she knew it all. He hesitated, then…

"Sure." It was better than riding the overcrowded bus anyway. She gave him a smile remarkably like their mother's and lead the way out of the house and down the front steps.

Jazz's car wasn't anything spectacular, but it was normal and that was good enough for him. A third-hand blue Honda civic, the paint was chipped on the right passenger door, and there was a dent on the bumper. He'd never tell Jazz, but he loved that car. Then again, she might have figured that out on her own, what with him gazing at it all lovingly and whatnot. The interior was tan, with accents of blue. The carpets were heavily stained, and a strong scent of coffee mixed with cheap spearmint air-freshener filled his nostrils. The car purred as it pulled out of the driveway, though the sound lessened to a soft rumble as it rounded the block.

"So, Danny." He glanced at her. "Mr. Lancer always starts his classes with an essay about yourself. He usually forms his opinion of you based on that essay, so it's a good idea try and get it the best you can. Otherwise the only hope you have of getting an A is joining the football team. And—"

"Whoa, Jazz," Danny said holding up a hand to cut her off. "You told me this all yesterday." He paused a moment, then smirked, "Are you worried about your little brother?"

She glared at him. "No. I just want to make sure you make it through high school and come out prepared for the future."

"C'mon, how hard can it be?"

"Only if you don't take it seriously!"

All of a sudden, Danny wished he had taken the bus.

Ashes to Ashes

"Dude, are you okay?"

Danny looked up. A few inches taller than him, Tucker Foley had warm chocolate brown skin, and close-cropped black hair that he usually covered with his favorite red beret. They'd been best friends since forever – he actually had no idea how long it had been exactly, being pretty horrible at math. Danny grimaced.

"As okay as one can be after being lectured by their sister. It's not funny Tuck!"

Tucker – how had started chuckling, now had to work even harder to compose himself. "And it looks like you got, what, three hours of sleep?"

Danny glowered, and opted to look around the crowded hall. The bell to single homeroom was supposed to ring in a little less than five minutes. The rest of his grade were milling about, congratulating each other for making it to the ninth grade and exchanging summer stories. He searched for a glimmer of purple and black in the crowd of freshmen, but was disappointed.

"Where is Sam? She's usually here before us," he said fidgeting slightly.

"That was middle school. Now, we're closer to the building than she is."

"Oh, right."

"You guys wouldn't be waiting for me, would you?"

Danny whirled around, smiling. "Sam finally, we—" he cut off abruptly. He didn't think a person could change so much in two weeks, and she hadn't been kidding. She had cut her hair – though to his relief it wasn't a Mohawk. The long midnight hair that usually fell haphazardly over her shoulders had gone. It was maybe an inch longer than his mother's now and subtly layered, with bangs covering her forehead. For a moment, neither Danny nor Tucker could say a word. She eyed them apprehensively, a faint pink twinge accenting her pale face.

"It's crap, isn't it? I know I should've—"

"It looks great." Danny cut in, grinning more broadly.

"Yeah," Tucker said beaming as well. "Different. But cool."

Sam smiled, bringing a hand to curl a strand behind her ear. Danny blinked, and then realized what else was different. "Sam!" he exclaimed and she jumped.

"What?"

"Your eyes!"

Tucker blinked then gasped too. Sam's dark coffee gaze had disappeared. Instead, a stunning violet had taken its place. She smiled rather slyly. "I figured if I had to wear contacts anyway, I might as well enjoy it. They're glass too, so I just leave them in until I need a different prescription."

"Ah, well…" Danny swallowed. "It's different. In a good way!" he amended quickly. Then he grinned. "It's totally you."

Sam beamed at him.

"Right so, we should probably get to homeroom."

Danny turned and nodded. "Yeah, wait." He glanced at his schedule. "Who do you guys have?"

"Lancer," Tucker replied gazing down at his.

"Same here," Sam responded.

"Great…" Danny said, suddenly frowning.

"What, you don't?"

"No, it's some lady named Webb."

"Let me see your schedule." Without waiting for a reply, Sam snatched the slip of paper out of his hands and stared it as though she were trying to will the words to change. She handed it back looking defeated, but optimistic. "Well, the rest of our schedule is the same." She paused. "Maybe they didn't have enough room or something."

"Maybe…"

At that moment the bell rang, calling all students to their respected advisories. Tucker patted him on the back. "See you in an hour, all right?" Danny nodded glumly and watched their retreating backs for a moment before turning with a resigned sigh toward his assigned classroom. It felt so strange to be walking down the hall without Sam and Tucker at his elbows, listening to them either bicker about the nutritional value of meat verses vegetables or else discussing a new movie. Oh! Right, they were giving Sam her surprise after school today.

Feeling slightly happier, he paused outside the classroom in question. The rest of the students seemed to have already entered and were picking their seats. He recognized some of the faces from his class, but there were others he didn't know. And… he cursed silently under his breath. Jazz was sitting in the front seat, looking ridiculously excited. Well, that solved the mystery of how he had gotten in there. She'd probably asked the teacher to have him in her homeroom. They'd gotten a letter about a week ago explaining the inter-grade advisory groups that were held every Monday before class; something about it being an effective way to bring grades together and establish their high school and beyond plan.

And so it was that Danny entered room 106 alone.